Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has rejected "outright" any suggestion the Government plans to restrict VPN usage as part of a proposed youth social media ban, after media reporting it was under consideration.
The Post reported this morning that the Government had been pursuing restrictions as part of work on an under-16s ban, citing multiple sources with knowledge of the work.
Education Minister Erica Stanford's office later released a statement clarifying that the Government was "not looking at restricting or banning VPNs".
Luxon was similarly emphatic when asked about the report at a media stand-up today.
"I can reject that outright. There's no plan to ban VPNs at all. I don't know where that reporting or where that story came from, but I can reassure you that's not the case."
The Prime Minister said the social media legislation was being drafted by the Parliamentary Counsel Office and would come to Cabinet shortly.
"I know that's not our position or policy at all," he said.
Children's Commissioner pushes for their voices to be heard as the Govt commits to bringing the ban into law. (Source: 1News)
"We'll have more to say about it shortly as well."
Stanford's office did not deny possible restrictions were being considered when asked for comment yesterday, The Post reported.
Today's reassurances also came after the ACT Party made clear it would not back any VPN restriction, and amid pushback from civil liberties groups.
Virtual private networks to hide internet usage
VPNs, or virtual private networks, create a "tunnel" between a person's device and a remote server, hiding internet usage from providers and making it harder to intercept.
Since websites detect the remote server's location instead of the user's own, a person can seem to be browsing from somewhere else entirely. People typically rely on them for privacy, though they can equally serve to bypass censorship or content restrictions.
Prolific poster and National MP Joseph Mooney backed the minister's stance.
"New Zealand should never consider joining the list of countries that ban VPNs - such as North Korea, Belarus, Turkmenistan, Iraq and Iran - nor the countries that only allow state-approved VPN’s such as China and Russia," the backbench MP said in a tweet.
"Free speech is a crucial cornerstone of democracy."
Investigating social media restrictions for under-16s will now become part of the Government's work programme, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced. (Source: 1News)
The prospect of VPN restrictions was raised in the education and workforce select committee's final report on online harm, presented to Parliament in March, which recommended the issue be explored further by a proposed online safety regulator.
Its majority acknowledged "well-founded concern that age restrictions on social media could be evaded by young people using VPNs".
Both the Greens and ACT have criticised the suggestion of VPN restrictions.
The former said the recommendation for a regulator to explore "how to stop the use of VPNs" was "misguided", arguing the tools were legitimately used to protect privacy.
"It would be technologically impossible for regulated digital platforms to block VPN users from New Zealand, who would otherwise have to block all VPN users around the world - including those using VPNs to bypass internet censorship by authoritarian governments."
The Greens also opposed the wider proposal to restrict social media for under-16s, saying they did not believe such a ban would address the concerns identified and that young people would "find ways around these rules".
Teens tell 1news they can get around the restriction, and the government says the measure was never going to be perfect. (Source: 1News)
ACT, which used its differing view to reject much of the report, said VPNs were "legitimate privacy and security tools used by businesses, journalists, and everyday New Zealanders" and an essential cybersecurity measure.
"Proposals to look at the regulation of VPNs or to establish a new regulator should be seen as what they are — a failure to properly engage with how a ban would work in practice and proportionally balance a ban against the rights of New Zealanders."
The party was also critical of the move towards an under-16 ban, warning it would be difficult to enforce without requiring widespread age verification that could compel all New Zealanders to prove their identity online.
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